Problems In All Packages
by tubeatoothpaste
Summary: Nina's neice and nephew Ashley and Adam come to live with her to escape Ashley's problems in Boston. But Ashley soon finds out that there are problems everywhere... even in Everwood.
1. Default Chapter

Ashley stared out the window, watching the people in this new town walk around. The town was overly decorated for Christmas, with lights all over, ribbons on lampposts and alighted snowflakes hanging across the street. It was really very picturesque. Very different from Boston, Massachusetts where she was from.

"Now I know you'll love it here," her Aunt Nina said slowly, smiling back at her niece.

Ashley smiled weakly. Her twin brother, Adam patted her shoulder to comfort her. Ashley flinched from the contact. She looked at Adam apologetically. Adam shrugged, giving her a reassuring look. He understood. Jason, her eight-year-old brother smiled at her, showing a gap where his two front teeth usually were.

Ashley sighed. This was not how she wanted to live her life. Scared and unsure. She shrank away from any human touch. She was just glad her aunt Nina understood. Her aunt never pushed her to touch anyone. It was too bad that Sam, her son didn't really understand. But Sam was okay, he was young, incapable of hurt. By then they had arrived at the house, and Nina, a blonde, smiling woman, helped them carry in all their stuff.

"Come on," Adam said, his hand hovering over her shoulder, without touching her, "You can pick rooms first."

Ashley smiled in thanks. Adam had somehow developed a way of communicating with her that when he would've normally touched her, he just put his hand there. This way, it still seemed normal and close, but he never did anything she didn't want. It wasn't her fault she was scared of touch, it was just that she cringed and was scared that it might happen again.

She picked a room that was in the corner of her house, the farthest from the stairs, so that, for sure, she wouldn't be disturbed by strangers who came into the house. Ashley had visited her aunt Nina once before and people from the town just popped into the house throughout the day, which had made Ashley uncomfortable because most of the time, Nina was working at Momma Jo's Diner in town.

Ashley noticed that her room had a window that showed the neighbor's house. She was staring into a messy room, the floor covered in clothes and books. It seemed to belong to a boy. It had a lot of black clothes and with a smile Ashley realized she was living next to a punk. She didn't know there were rebels in this tiny town.

The first thing Ashley did was flop down on the bed. It was pretty comfortable and would be even more so once she had her own comforter on it. She opened up her book, her favorite, which had also been her mother's favorite, Gone With the Wind, and she started reading.  
  
Adam poked his head around the corner into her room. "Someone is downstairs."

Ashley looked up from the page.

"I think they want to meet you."

With a sigh, she put in her bookmark and closed the book, following him downstairs. She came down off the stairs and saw Nina sitting on her white couch with three people. One was a middle-aged man who had a goldeny-brown beard. Next to him was a teenager, who had dark hair, dark eyes, dark clothes and a dark feel about him. Ashley could tell just by looking at him that he had problems. He must have been the rebel from next door.

She did not want any problems, didn't want to deal with them, she had left problems in Boston. Jason was sitting next to Nina and on Nina's other side was a young girl, probably Jason's age, wearing a hat and looking over at Jason shyly. She had big open brown eyes and beautifully straight brown hair. Adam nudged Ashley and she flinched, then smiled. Adam gave her a look that said he was sorry. Ashley shrugged and stepped into the living room.

"Oh, these are my niece and nephew Ashley and Adam," Nina said, interrupting the man.

"Guys, this is Dr. Brown and Ephram and Delia." Ashley and Adam smiled and nodded politely, taking a seat.

Ephram attempted a smile but Ashley could see it was only half-meant. Delia smiled though, genuinely and Dr. Brown was very friendly and ecstatic. Ashley sighed. It was going to take some time to adjust.

Ashley whirled around in the hallway. The door nearest her was number 6. She had to get to room 32. Where in the world was room 32? The late bell had rung so there was no one in the hallway to ask.

Then suddenly she saw someone walking down the hall away from her. He was very tall, very well built and had a head of blonde and brown curls. He was wearing a blue shirt and jeans. Ashley ran up to him and said,

"Excuse me."

He stopped and looked at her. Ashley almost gasped. He was cute! He had beautifully blue eyes and a handsome face.

"Um," she said, now nervous, "Can you please tell me where room 32 is?"

The guy smiled sweetly, "Sure. It's right up the hallway, and you go up three flights of stairs and it's the third room on the right." "

Thanks," She sad quietly.

"Anytime." He flashed her a grin, showing off his white teeth. A

shley practically flew down the hall, and slammed into the doors. She hurtled up the stairs and she ran to the third door on the right of the hall. She burst in and froze. She saw two teachers, one male, one female, sit up and shove each other off, looking at her questioningly. The woman's skirt was twisted and her shirt was untucked. They had obviously been making out. Ashley colored deeply, stammering,

"uh..sorry..." and then she jetted out of the room.

She stopped when she heard someone laughing. She whirled around to see the cute guy. She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath. She never could control her temper.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, advancing towards him.

"I don't know. 'Cause I'm a senior and I get to torture Freshmen." He said with a laugh.

"I'm not a freshman!" She yelled, "I'm a junior! And even if I was a freshman that gives you no right to do that!" She glared up at him menacingly. Ashley was very small for her age. She barely even came up to this guy's shoulder.

"Oh sorry." He said starting to walk away.

"NO! You're not sorry you don't give a shit!" She screamed. He turned and walked back to her.

"Look," he said, taking her arm. A

shley flinched, spazing out. She took a step backwards. Her spirit was gone. Now she was scared. He was so much bigger than her. He could hurt her. Really badly. The guy looked at her funny. He reached for her arm again. Ashley cringed at the touch of his warm hand. She flung her arm away and started to run. The guy laughed hysterically after her as she ran.

"That's it!" he called, "Run away!"

Ashley ran down the hall, tears stinging her eyes. That guy probably didn't mean to hurt her, but he could've. He really could've. She stopped by the water fountain and took a deep breath, trying to stifle her tears.

Next to her she saw her neighbor, Ephram and he stared at her. "Ashley, what's wrong?" Ephram asked, stepping closer to her.

"Nothing," Ashley said, wiping away a tear, "I just have...allergies."

Ephram nodded knowingly, "Oh. Yah they always act up."

Ashley smiled up at him gratefully. Ephram didn't seem satisfied though. "You know you can tell mewhat's wrong," he said kindly. He rested a hand on her shoulder.

Ashley flinched and started backing down the hall. Ephram gave her a weird look.

"I have to go to the library," Ashley said, sprinting down the hall. It was in the library that Ashley spent the rest of her day, skipping class, hiding especially from the curly haired boy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Ashley heard her feet pounding on the pavement. Then she heard others, heavier pounding after her. She shrieked and turned down a dark alley, jumping over a puddle. __She heard splashes behind her. She looked back over her shoulder. _

_A group of three guys, high school seniors from the nearby high school followed her quickly. They were all big, muscular teenagers with horribly evil smirks on their faces. Ashley looked away, pushing herself to run harder. She turned another corner and screamed. It was a dead end. _

_Ashley could feel fear welling up in her throat. Don't let them know you're scared. She told herself. But how could she not? She was shaking in fear. She took a deep breath and turned around. _

_"You know," she said, "My brother is looking for me. He probably heard me already. He was on that street in his car." She pointed towards the street she had veered off of. _

_One of the guys smiled at her, as if she were pathetic, "Nice try." _

_"Yeah, liar." Another one sneered. "Nobody's looking for you and you'll do what we want." _

_"No I won't!" Ashley screamed, her voice amazingly sounding brave. _

_The biggest guy, who was extremely good looking with short brown hair and brown eyes, grabbed her wrists. He backed her up against the brick wall. He pushed his body up against hers, making her hurt where her bones met the wall or his body. His breath smelled of liquor. She wanted to whimper in pain but didn't, staring at him defiantly. _

_"Yes you will," he whispered, "You'll do it for me." _

_Ashley turned her head away from his beautiful face, knowing what he wanted to do. He let go of one of her wrist and with his fingers, forced her head to look at him. He grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her. Ashley, her body moving faster than her brain reached up and smacked him. The guy laughed, and then jerked her away from the wall, then pressed her harder against it, his leg between her legs, squishing her. _

_"You're a bit feisty," he teased. Then, he picked her up through kicks and screams and carried her back to his car. _

_"Wait out here," he told his friends as he threw her into the backseat, "This shouldn't take long." _

_Ashley backed herself against the far car door, creeping away from the guy. He laughed. _

_"Don't try to open the door, it's on child lock. It only opens from the outside." _

_Ashley got scared, what was she supposed to do now? The guy reached for her, pulling her to him. Ashley resisted and he smacked her. _

_"Do what I want bitch." He said, licking her neck. Ashley wrenched away. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny six-inch switchblade. In one quick move he had the cool blade pressing against Ashley's warm skin on her neck. She didn't breath she was so scared. _

_"I said do what I want." _

_The guy reached down and grabbed her shirt, ripping it off of her. Ashley shrieked, trying to struggle away. He pulled out the blade so she could see it again. Ashley kept struggling, this was not happening. The guy removed her bra forcefully, leaving bruises and scratches with his fingers. He touched her body and Ashley wanted to bite off his hands. He was hurting her so much. Then he reached down, not satisfied and unbuttoned her jeans. Ashley screamed in pain as he continued. He was hurting her so much! She could feel her body cry out. God, she was too small! This hurt! She was too young!  
_

Ashley sat up in bed, her body drenched with sweat. She stared wildly around the room. Every shadow around scared her.

"Adam!" she whispered, "Adam!" Her brother tumbled into the room and sat next to her.

"What is it?"

"I... I had the dream again..." Ashley said slowly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "God why can't I forget it?"

"Because it was a big thing," he explained, staring at her sympathetically. "It was wrong and scary and it shouldn't have happened. You know that."

Ashley sighed, "I know."

Adam stared at his sister. He wished so badly that he could take away what happened to her that night. If he hadn't been at his football practice, he could've saved her. But he was at practice. That's why they had moved away, to the country, not the city. Nothing like this happened here.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ashley was walking slowly through the halls, trudging to lunch, and then she saw him, the curly haired boy. He saw her too, and smiled.

"Hey, look," he said, "I really am sorry about yesterday."

Ashley wasn't sure that she believed him, but she just gave him a weak, forced smile back.

"I was just trying to be funny, but I guess it wasn't," he said with a shrug. "Anyways, I'm Bright," He stuck out his hand for her to shake.

Ashley sighed, staring at it. Well, she had to start somewhere. She put out her own small hand and shook,

"I'm Ashley."

She didn't cringe. Just shook his hand and let go. It was a normal everyday gesture. But after she had completed it, she felt like a huge weight had been lifted. She smiled, genuinely.

"So are you always as big of a jerk as you were yesterday?" she asked as they entered the cafeteria.

"Are you always such a spaz?" Bright countered back, grabbing a tray for himself and handing her one too. Ashley stared for a second, then laughed.

"Yes," she answered honestly, "I guess I am."

"How come?" Bright asked, pulling a hamburger off the lunch rack.

"I don't really want to tell you," Ashley said quietly, staring at her shoes.

"That's cool," he smiled, "There's stuff I don't tell anyone either."

Ashley grinned, "I guess everyone has secrets."

Bright got a far off look in his eyes, "Yup, and everyone has a past."

It was Ashley's turn to stare into space. She flinched, without wanting to, "I agree with that."

They got out of the lunch line, and looked around for a table. Ashley wasn't sure whether or not to leave him, but she had no one else to sit with so she didn't.

"Enough of this depressing talk," Bright said, making his way through the tables. "We sound like Ephram."

Ashley looked at him in surprise, "You're friends with Ephram?"

Bright nodded, "Yeah."

Ashley laughed a little.

"What?" Bright asked, as they sat down at a table.

"You just don't seem like you guys would be friends. You're so different." Ashley explained, making sure she didn't offend him.

"Yeah, but he had a thing for my sister, only not anymore, and I used to hate him, cause my best friend Colin used to be my sister's boyfriend, and Ephram was replacing him cause Colin was in a coma cause I was drunk driving a truck with him and Ephram's dad got him out of it, so Colin really liked Ephram and now Colin's dead and my sister moved out and I don't know but me and Ephram are friends now." Bright said all in one breath.

"Wow," Ashley breathed, "that's... a sad story.

Bright laughed, "Yeah, Wow. I can't believe I just said all that. I don't even know why I told you," he answered.

Ashley smiled, "Well, I don't know either, but I'm glad you did."

Bright grinned, "How come?"

Ashley sighed, "Well, I guess I know now that every place has problems." She sighed again, a big sigh. "I thought I left problems in Boston."

Bright studied her. Her small little face was so troubled. He sighed, he wondered what her problems could be.

"Ha, we have tons of problems in Everwood." He smiled, "And here comes one of them!"

Ephram sat down at their table, "Hey guys."

"Hey," Bright and Ashley said together.

Ashley laughed, then looked at the clock. She stood up.

"All right guys, I have killer Trig homework I got to do." She smiled, "See you later."

Bright stared after her as she went.

"You two seem pretty tight," Ephram said, "I didn't even know that you knew each other."

Bright sighed, "I don't know dude. I met her yesterday, and was a jerk and then today..." He rubbed his head with his hands, "I told her everything, man. About you, about Colin, and Amy."

Ephram nodded, "That's a lot to tell."

"Hell yeah it is, and I didn't even have to! I mean, she's got some secret she won't tell, so I didn't have to tell her anything... but I did. It's weird man."

"So, do you like her?" Ephram asked after a minute.

"I don't know. Too early to tell. Maybe we should all hang out." Bright suggested.

"Oh, yes! I get to be the third wheel!" Ephram smiled.

"Dude, Bring Madison!" Bright said.

"Then it's like a double date," Ephram countered, "Besides, I don't think Madison would want to hang out with us."

Bright nodded, "Right."

"She has a brother..." Ephram said slowly. "Maybe he'd like to hang out. I'll talk to him."

"Adam!" Ephram yelled, jogging up to Ashley's twin.

"Hey," he said, identified himself, "Ephram. remember me?" Ephram asked, reintroducing himself.

"Yeah, dude," he smiled, "What's up?"

"Um, not much, I was just wondering if you and Ashley would like to hang out with me and my friend Bright on Friday night, cause you know you just moved here and everything."

Adam grinned, "Well sure, I mean, I can say yes for me, but you'll have to ask Ashley."

Ephram smiled back, "Great! We'll talk about particulars later."

"See you," Adam said as he walked away.

"Hey Ash!" Adam said as he came up to his sister in the hall.

"Tomorrow, do you want hang out with Ephram and some kid Bright?"

"Sure!" Ashley smiled, opening her locker.

"Cool," Adam answered. "Anything interesting happen today?"

"I got a detention! I have to serve it today after school." Ashley complained as she pulled a book out of her locker.

"What'd you get it for?"

"Being late!" Ashley made a face, "I mean come on! I've been at the school for like two days!"

Adam shook his head, "That's crazy!"

"I no!" she agreed, "Oh my gosh! You know what else is crazy!" Ashley yelled, getting excited. "I touched someone today!"

Adam stared at her for a second, "Who?"

"Bright!" Ashley beamed, "I shook his hand! I was so proud of myself!"

Adam forced a smile, "That's awesome Ash! Gotta get to class."

He turned away and walked down the hall, thinking Who is Bright? And what makes him so special that she could touch him but not her own brother? He sighed, Well at least she's getting better.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ashley groaned and ran into the detention room. She was relieved to see there was no teacher in there yet, she had thought she was late. Ashley dropped her pink slip on the desk at the front of the room and made her way back to sit next to a girl with long feathery light brown hair.

"Are you new?" the girl asked.

Ashley smiled, "Yeah, I'm Ashley."

"I'm Amy," the girl smiled, "Welcome to detention. What did you do?"

"Late to class," Ashley explained. "You think they'd give me a break!"

"Oh, yeah. I didn't keep up with homework." Amy replied.

"Ouch," Ashley said, with a sorry smile.

"So do you have like people to hang out with and everything?" Amy asked, trying not to sound too mean or stuck up.

"Yeah!" Ashley smiled, "I actually do! I mean, they're all guys, but it's cool."

Amy nodded, "Oh, that's cool, who are they?"

"Umm," Ashley thought for a minute about who she considered her friends. "Ephram and Bright. They're really awesome, they seem to really care."

Amy was stunned. Ephram and Bright? Her brother had this new friend that she didn't even know anything about? She missed so much living away from home. She sighed. And Ephram? First Madison, now Ashley? And she didn't know anything about anything that was going on!

Ashley watched confliction emotions go over Amy's face. She wondered if maybe Amy didn't like Bright and Ephram.

"What?" Ashley asked quickly, "Do you know them? Are they, like, actually horrible people?"

Amy smiled, a few tears welling up in her eyes, "No, no they're great. Look I have to go to the bathroom."

She ran out of her seat. As nice as Ashley was, it was hard to listen to her talking about her family, the people she used to be with all the time. W

hat was going on? Ashley stared at Amy running away. What was her deal?

Ashley walked out of detention and looked around. She just realized that she didn't have a ride home.

"Crap!" she moaned, smacking herself in the head.

"Hey, hey it's just detention!" a voice said as she looked up and saw Bright.

"What are you doing here?" Ashley asked, staring at him.

"Well, I didn't do so hot on my last math test so I had to go to a review session." He explained, "Besides, I'm always looking to pick up those poor kids in detention."

Ashley laughed, "Well, if you're going to be here for a little, so am I," she sighed.

"Why?" Bright asked as Ashley pulled her coat on.

"Well I don't have a ride," she explained.

"Oh," Bright said back, "Well, if you want, I could give you a ride. I mean it's a small town so no matter where you live, I'm sure it won't take too long to get there."

Ashley laughed, "God, in Boston everyone could live so far apart! And everyone took the train or the subway, stuff like that. I'm not used to Everwood."

Bright laughed, then asked, "Well? Am I your chauffer?"

Ashley smiled, "Sure."

"Right this way, miss," Bright said, leading her down the hall.

"Hey Ashley! Wait up!" A voice behind them yelled.

Ashley and Bright both turned to see who was yelling.

It was Amy.

Ashley saw Amy freeze in her tracks, then start running towards them as Bright walked quickly away.

"Bright, wait!" Amy yelled. Bright just kept walking, Ashley was confused and followed him.

"Look, we need to talk!" Amy said, touching Bright's shoulder.

"You want to talk?" Bright asked whirling around, "Well too bad, I have nothing to say to you, okay? You ditched us. So stay away."

With that Bright hurried off into the parking lot. Ashley stood for a second looking at Amy who looked like she was going to cry then ran after Bright.

"Bright, slow down!" she called as she chased him across the parking lot.

"Sorry," he apologized as Ashley caught up with him.

"It's okay." She sighed. "Are you okay?"

Bright thought for a second, "Yeah. I'm okay."

"Well, who was that?" Ashley asked, looking back at Amy's silhouette. "I mean, I know who she is, but what is going on?"

"That," Bright said quietly as they reached his truck, "Is my sister."

He opened the door and slid inside, slamming the door after him.

"Oh," Ashley said to the air, understanding a lot of the day's events. There was a silence as Bright started up the car.

"Look, we don't need to talk about her," Bright said quietly, "I mean, I'm used to it so you know, we can talk about whatever."

Ashley nodded, "Okay. So... how's the family?" As soon as the word left her mouth she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. It was just a saying she said whenever no one had anything to say! And now it was in the worst context ever! Bright's family was not exactly functional right now.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped, "I am so sorry Bright... I did not mean that at all and I-"

She stopped when she saw Bright laughing. "You're one weird girl Ashley," he said with a smile, "You're different from the girls out here."

"Yeah?" Ashley asked, now interested, "And how so?"

"Well for one," Bright said, "You don't dress like a whore."

"Not everyone does," Ashley countered.

"Well all the girls I know do," Bright returned.

"Yes, then maybe you are with the wrong kinds of girls." Ashley answered with a smile. "Sluts are not cool."

Bright laughed, "Yeah, maybe. But I don't know I haven't been with those kind of girls in a little while. I mean, I think that with everything else in my life going crazy, I can't deal with the girl factor too."

"I completely understand," Ashley said, "I'm not looking to have a boyfriend for a real long time."

Bright nodded, "For reasons you wish not to share, correct?"

Ashley nodded apologetically, "I'm sorry Bright. Maybe I'll tell you someday."

Bright smiled, "That's cool." There was a minute or two of silence and then Ashley started talking again,

"Bright..." She waited until he looked at her to continue, "I feel really bad about not telling you stuff. I mean you're really honest with me. It's just that... I... I can't tell anyone. It's not just you."

Bright smiled, "I told you Ash, I understand, you don't have to keep explaining yourself."

Ashley sighed. Thinking about it, if she had to tell anyone right now, she would have picked Bright. She felt like she could trust him.

(a/n Oh yeah... in case you havent't realized, this is taking place back when Amy lived with her grandparents and Ephram was still with Madison. I know I'm backtracking but... who cares?)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Ready?" Adam yelled up to Ashley.

She had been getting ready for an awful long time. Adam sort of suspected that Ashley had a crush on Bright, and how she was taking so long only seemed to enforce that idea. Well, good for Ashley. But he hoped to god that Bright wouldn't hurt her. Physically or emotionally. Ashley didn't need that. She needed someone to help prove to her that all guys were not jerks.

"Almost!" Ashley yelled.

She was up in her room, examining her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing her favorite blue jeans and a light blue shirt that said "No Worries." In big letters. She sighed. She wished she really had no worries. Maybe if her shirt said she was happy, she wouldn't need to act like it. At the last second, Ashley pulled her hair up into a pony tail and rushed down the stairs.

"Ready!" she smiled at Adam. He looked like he had been doing some serious thinking. They both put on their winter coats and Ashley wrapped a scarf around her neck and put on her gloves.

Adam laughed at her, "You look ridiculous."

Ashley laughed, "I'd rather look stupid than be cold!"

"It's like a two second walk!" Adam protested.

"So?" Ashley Adam grinned and they walked in comfortable silence up Ephram's walkway. Ashley rang the doorbell and Delia answered it.

"Hi Delia!" Ashley said with a smile. Delia looked at Adam next to her and gulped.

"H-Hi." She stuttered. Ashley had to hide a laugh. Delia had a little bit of a crush on Adam.

"Is Ephram home?" Adam asked.

"Um, yeah. Come on in." Delia said, letting them in. Her eyes never left Adam. Ashley laughed hysterically.

"Do you know where he is?" She asked.

"In his room," Delia said, smiling at Adam, who didn't appear to notice.

Ashley ran up the stairs to Ephrams room. He was sprawled out on his bed listening to his head phones. Ashley jumped on the bed, and Ephram sat up.

"Delia, I told you-"

Ashley laughed. "I'm not Delia!"

"Oh, Hey Ash." Ephram said getting up and looking around his messy room for his jacket.

"Look," Ashley said, going to his window and pointing, "You can see into my room!"

"I'll keep that in mind next time I'm bored..." Ephram told her.

Ashley hit him on the arm. "Stop it! That's gross."

Ephram laughed, "I was kidding!"

Ashley giggled, "Well now, we can have like... secret messages and stuff! Like three taps on the window means: I'm fresh out of Eas-Mac, can I borrow some of yours?"

Ephram laughed, "And four taps means: Ashley you're crazy."

Ashley snorted, "And five taps means: Ephram is a joykill."

Ephram stood up, "Come on. Let's go, Bright's waiting for us."

Right before they got to the head of the stairs, Ashley stopped.

"Ephram." She whispered, "Delia has a crush on Adam."

Ephram chuckled, "You're kidding."

Ashley shook her head, "No, I'm not. She really does. It's cute."

Sure enough, when they came downstairs, Adam was sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine and Delia was staring at him, smiling ridiculously. Ephram came in, tapped Adam on the shoulder and they left the room.

"Bye Delia!" Ashley called, then she elbowed Adam and, after giving her a dirty look, he yelled

"See you Delia!"

"BYE!" Delia practically shrieked, jumping over the couch to wave good-bye. S

uddenly Ashley realized something. She had punched Ephram upstairs and she elbowed Adam. Was she getting better?

The three of them walked slowly down the street, talking and laughing.

"Why couldn't Bright just pick us up?" Ashley moaned as they trudged through the slushy snow on the sidewalk.

"Because he's lazy," Ephram said, "And because, since we're going to the pizza place on Main Street, it wouldn't make sense."

"I was actually just complaining, I didn't expect a real answer." Ashley told him.

"Oh."

They all laughed. Finally they got to the pizza place and sure enough, Bright was inside, sipping a soda. He stood up when they came in the door, the little bell ringing.

"Good. I was beginning to think you stood me up!" Bright told them as they came to the table.

"Well we had to walk the whole way here." Ashley told him, taking a seat next to him.

"Aww why'd you do that? I would've picked you up! All you had to do is ask."

Adam and Ashley glared at Ephram who shrugged.

"Oh," Ashley remembered, "Bright, this is my twin Adam, Adam this is Bright."

"'Sup dude?" Bright said, nodding at Adam and studying the Menu.

Adam smiled. Bright seemed okay. At least he had offered to drive them. That was cool.

"So, what are we getting?" Ephram asked.

"Dude, pizza!" Bright said, "Obviously! We're in a pizza place."

Ephram sighed, "This pizza is nothing compared to New York Pizza. Now that's good."

Adam laughed, "Ephram leaves New York for Everwood, and he doesn't dream about the girls he's missing out on, but the pizza."

"Hey, we got a good share of girls in Everwood." Bright said with a smile. "You just haven't found them yet. I mean... there are some girls that definitely don't belong in a small town..."

"'Cause they've slept with half of it already." Ephram finished.

"Dude that's not what I was going to say," Bright said.

"Didn't we talk about this, Bright?" Ashley interrupted. "I thought you weren't going for sluts anymore."

Adam listened more intently. So Bright dated sluts. Defiently not the type of guy for Ashley.

"I'm not!" Bright said holding up his hands in honesty, "I've changed. See that waitress?"

He pointed at a waitress in a very short skirt with make-up caked on. The other three teenagers nodded.

"Normally, I would've hit on her," Bright told them, "But tonight, I don't even want to."

Adam and Ashley looked at Ephram as if to verify. "It's true."

They laughed and just then the exact waitress came to the table.

"How can I help you?" she said, especially eyeing Bright.

"Uh, we'd like one large cheese pizza," Bright said slowly, uncomfortable with her gaze on him.

"And a rootbeer." Ashley chimed in.

"Make that two." Adam added.

"No, three," Ephram corrected.

Bright held out his empty drink, "Yeah, me too." T

he waitress sighed, "Large cheese pizza and four rootbeers?"

They all nodded politely and she walked off.

"So can I ask you guys a question?" Bright said after a minute. He looked at Ashley and Adam. They nodded. "Well, why exactly did you move here? I mean, Ephram moved here because his dad remembered that his mom liked it once. No one ever moves here for no reason."

Adam looked at Ashley. She very slightly shook her head, no. Adam sighed. "Our aunt, Nina, lives out here and well... with her about to get a divorce and everything, we figured that she could us some help." Adam said with a smile. A fake smile that no one at the table bought.

Ashley could see that. "And there were...problems in Boston." Ashley said quietly, looking down at her lap.

Bright nodded, understanding. "Oh yes, the infamous way for Ashley to end a conversation."

Ashley nodded, "Sorry."

Ephram and Bright smiled, "No problem."

"So I have a question," Ashley asked suddenly. "You have a basketball team right?"

Bright nodded, "Yeah. I'm on it. Why?"

"Well," Ashley said with a grin, "Adam was the star player of our high school's basketball team."

"Really?" Bright asked, getting excited.

Adam shrugged bashfully. "I was okay," he muttered.

"Oh yeah right," Ashley laughed, "He was awesome!"

Suddenly Bright felt sad. Being with Adam and Ashley reminded him of him and Amy. Who wasn't speaking to him. Or he wasn't speaking to her. Whatever.

Ashley noticed he was sad and she smiled and pointed at her shirt. No Worries. Bright smiled. Yeah. No Worries. Tonight was about fun.

"Can we go yet?" Ashley moaned, "I'm freezing!"

She stamped her skates in the snow, waiting for Ephram to tie his skates.

"Excuse me," he muttered, "I wasn't exactly born on an frozen pond. Unlike you three."

The other three just laughed and waited a little more patiently. Finally, they started skating. Ephram needed help. He was really bad.

"Come on!" Ashley told him, skating a little bid ahead of him. "Stay right behind me. Try to catch me."

She skated a little faster and Ephram followed, gaining confidence.

"Do I get to play too?" Bright asked, and started chasing Ashley.

She laughed and skated faster. She was looking over her shoulder, laughing at Bright as he stumbled, when she completely lost her footing and fell. Bright tried to slow down, but he couldn't help it, he fell, landing on top of her. Suddenly the memory came back. Ashley remembered that guy on top of her, the smell of alcohol on his breath, the pain she had been in. Tears came to her eyes. Bright was already off of her, but Ashley couldn't stop crying.

"Are you okay?" Bright asked, kneeling down next to her.

"God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't know I fell so hard."

Ashley shook her head, sniffling, "It's not you."

Bright understood, "Another thing you can't tell me." She nodded through her tears. "All right, come on, I'll take you home, okay?"

Bright helped her to her feet and brought her to a bench to take off her skates. He left and talked to Adam and Ephram for a little bit before he came back.

"All right well Ephram said that he's getting used to it and doesn't want to leave yet and I think your brother is trying to pick up chicks, so I'm going to come back and get them later."

Bright explained as he sat down next to her and started to untie his skates.

"I'm sorry," Ashley, whispered, "I'm really sorry. This was a lot of fun and I had to go and ruin it."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Bright told her, making sure she was looking at him. "We can ice skate all the time. Besides, once you go around like... four times... it gets old."

Ashley smiled gratefully. God, he was so nice.

"Ready?" he asked as he stood up.

He put out his hand to pull her up and she took it, surprising herself.

"Yup," She shook her hair out of her face.

"Let's go."

They were driving down the road in Bright's truck when Ashley suddenly yelled

"Stop!"

Bright slammed on the brakes. "What?"

"Pull over." Ashley said, her face serious.

Bright obeyed and when he had put on the emergency brake, he looked at her.

"What?"

Ashley was staring out at the lawn of someone, where the snow was perfectly untouched.

"Who's yard is that?" she asked.

"You made me pull over to ask who's yard it is?" Bright said incredulously.

"Just answer the question." Ashley commanded.

"It's Henry Johansen. He prides himself on his post-card worthy lawn." Bright explained.

"Well come on then!" Ashley said, opening the truck door and jumping out.

She ran into Mr. Johansens perfect yard, leaving huge footprints behind her. Bright got out and followed her more sowly. Ashley flopped down in the snow and rolled around, running the perfect ness.

"He is going to kill us," Bright whispered.

"So what?" Ashley yelled.

"SHH!" Bright said, collapsing beside her. "He'll hear us."

Ashley started to giggle and she couldn't stop.

"Stop Ash!" Bright commanded. A

shley just kept laughing. Bright rolled over so half of him was basically on top of her and he covered her mouth with his gloved hand.

"Shh." He whispered.

Ashley stared up at him. At first she thought of the boy who had told her to shut up while he raped her, but she stopped. Bright wasn't like that. His eyes were so... kind and blue. And...Ashley stopped. He was staring at her like... like he wanted to kiss her. Suddenly Ashley realized that if he did kiss her, she would kiss him back. She smiled at him, hoping it would encourage him. It did and Bright moved his face closer, taking his hand off of her mouth. Ashley could feel his hot breath on her cold face, and she closed her eyes. This was it...

"Hey you kids!! Get the hell off of my lawn!! What have you done!?!" A voice bellowed.

Bright rolled off of Ashley and they both took off for the truck, laughing in spite of Mr. Johansen's horrified shouts. Ashley closed the truck door behind her.

"Go go go!" she yelled.

Bright pushed the gas pedal and sped away. He pulled up a few minutes later at Ashley's house. Ashley opened the door slowly.

"Thanks Bright," she said with a smile." For everything," she added as she slid off the seat and onto the ground.

"Hey," Bright said right before closed the door.

"Yeah?" Ashley returned. "You want to hang out again tomorrow, or Sunday maybe?"

Ashley smiled, "Yeah. Just... call me I guess. Or just drop by."

"I'll do that," Bright promised, smiling at her. "See you then."

"Bye!" Ashley closed the door and walked up the driveway to her house.

She waved when she was on the porch and then went inside, leaning on the door after she closed it with a sigh.

"Did you have a nice time?" Ashley jumped and then realized it was her Aunt Nina in the kitchen.

"Yeah," Ashley nodded, taking off her scarf and jacket.

"Want some hot chocolate?" Nina asked, "I just made it."

Ashley nodded again, "That sounds so great."

"Wow," Nina laughed, "You really must have had a good time. Hey, wait, where's Adam?"

Ashley explained to her about what happened at the ice rink and Nina smiled sympathetically. Then Ashley told her about what she and Bright had done to Mr. Johansen's lawn.

"You didn't!" Nina said, horrified.

"Yup. We did!" Ashley returned as she stirred marshmallows into her hot chocolate. "And it felt great!"

"For some reason I sincerely doubt that was just because of the snow." Nina commented

"And I would have to agree." Ashley added.

Nina laughed, interested, "So, did anything happen?"

Ashley sighed, she felt comfortable talking about this with Nina. "No. But it would have if Mr. Johansen hadn't yelled at us at that exact moment."

Secretly, Nina was relived. Bright was a great kid, but she wasn't sure if Ashley was ready for that. And also, it was just the gut reaction for a guardian not to want her teenagers dating.

Nina smiled, "Well I'm happy for you, hun. But I need to get some rest."

Nina got up to leave, and was surprised when Ashley got up, kissed Nina on the cheek and hurried up the stairs.

_Whatever Bright is doing to her_, Nina thought. _Maybe he should keep doing it._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you..."

Ashley sang out loud as she cleaned up the mess on her floor. It was Saturday morning and she was playing all her old boy band cd's just for fun. They really got her excited. She started throwing her clothes all over the room and then dancing along. She knew she must have looked ridiculous, but she honestly didn't care.

For once, she was happy. She hadn't been happy like this in a long time. Maybe her mother was right, maybe it was the change of scnery that helped. Or getting away from all the people that knew about what happened to her and pitied her. Or maybe it was because of a certain blonde boy with blue eyes.

"ASHLEY!" Ashley stopped dancing when she heard Adam yelling her name.

"What?" she yelled back, turning off the music.

"Telephone!" Adam yelled, "I've only said it like eight times!"

Ashley shrugged and picked up the phone, trying to think who would be calling her. Then she remembered. What if it was Bright?

"Hello?" she said, trying to sound casual.

"You know, if you're going to dance like that, you should really pull the blinds down." The voice on the phone said.

Ashley turned to the window and saw Ephram in his room, on the phone, waving at her. Ashley blushed bright red and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Did you call just to tell me that?" She asked, standing with her hands on her hips. It was weird to be able to see someone as she talked on the phone with them.

Ephram shook his head as he answered, "No. I called because me and my girlfriend Madison were going to go to this concert tonight with the other people in her band, but they all backed out so now she has like 5 extra tickets and I wondered if you and Adam wanted to go."

Ashley sighed. "I don't know Ephram..." she started to say, but he cut her off.

"Bright's going." He added.

Even through the window Ashley could see Ephram's teasing smile.

She blushed again, "What makes you think that if Bright goes I will go too?" she said, turning her back to him so he couldn't see her face

"Nothing," Ephram teased again. "Just say you'll come. Adam already agreed."

Ashley sighed, "Fine. "I'll go."

"Good, see you at 8." Ephram hung up and Ashley promptly walked over and closed her blinds. Now she had to find something to wear.

---

Ashley thundered down the stairs when the horn honked outside. She grabbed her coat and saw Adam getting his too.

"Ready to go?" Adam asked.

"Yup!" Ashley said with a smile as they waved goodbye to Nina and Sam and ran outside. Bright was pulled up in his truck, waiting for them.

"Hurry up!" he yelled. Ashley and Adam ran and slid into the passenger seat, Ashley in the middle. They drove uneventfully to the concert and got in without problem.

"Now look around for Ephram and Madison," Bright told them.

"Considering I know what she looks like..." Ashley muttered.

Bright laughed, "Well you know what Ephram looks like. Just look for him with a girl that is... his type."

Ashley and Adam nodded, "Okay." They said in unison, then made a face at each other.

"Oh there's Ephram!" Ashley said triumphantly, "But is that Madison?" Ashley obviously showed surprise.

"Yeah," Bright confirmed when he waved to them.

"She doesn't look like his type," Adam said, saying what was on his mind and Ashley's.

Ashley nodded, she had expected someone more... well, honestly she had expected someone more like Bright's sister Amy. She seemed like Ephram's type. Then Ashley remembered that Bright had told her all about that. She shrugged, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover.

Ephram and Madison came over and Madison introduced herself. When she was up close, then Ashley realized how much older Madison was. She must've been in at least college and here she was hanging out with a bunch of high school-ers. She must really like Ephram.

Soon the band started and it played great music so everyone was enjoying themselves. Ashley looked around for a second and saw this guy staring at her. He was tall with brown hair and brown eyes. He was fixed on her, he didn't look away at all. Ashley convinced herself that he was looking at someone else and turned back around. A few minutes later, she turned around and he was still staring. Ashley ignored him for a while longer and then she couldn't take it anymore.

"Adam," she said, tugging on her brother's sleeve.

"What?" he asked, exasperated.

"That guy won't stop staring at me!" Ashley explained.

Adam immediately grew concerned. "Hold on,"

He walked away. Ashley watched him go.

Adam walked up to the guy. He didn't care that the guy was taller, or that he was probably older, if he made Ashley feel uncomfortable then he needed to be talked too.

"Hey," Adam said, touching the guy's arm lightly. The guy snapped out of watching Ashley and smiled.

"Hey."

"Look," Adam said after a second, "I don't mean to be a jerk or anything, but would you please stop watching my sister? It's making her really uncomfortable."

The guy sighed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It's just I've never seen her before around here and she's just so beautiful." He smiled. "Tell her I'm sorry."

Adam nodded, a little freaked out, but glad the guy was being reasonable.

"Okay thanks," he said hurriedly and walked quickly back to Ashley.

"He said he's sorry," Adam explained to her.

Ashley nodded, "Thanks Adam."

"No problem!"

They went back to concentrating on the concert, but in a little while, Ashley was so thirsty she couldn't stand it.

"I'm going to get water!" she told the others.

"I'll go with you!" Bright said, his voice raspy from screaming. They walked through the crowd of people out to the lobby where it was much quieter.

"Great concert, huh?" Ashley asked as they walked to where they could buy water.

"Yup," Bright answered, 'Hey I gotta go to the bathroom, I'll meet you back out here, okay?"

"Okay," Ashley smiled as she bought two waters for them. She turned around and there was the guy. He wasn't staring this time, just standing there.

"Hey," he said politely.

"Hi," Ashley replied cautiously. This guy seemed a little bit creepy in a stalker-esque way.

"Look," he apologized, "I'm sorry I freaked you out before. I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you." Ashley blushed a deep red. "So I was wondering if I could have your phone number?" the guy asked.

Ashley answered quickly, "Oh no. I don't think that would be a good idea. My boyfriend over there," Ashley pointed towards the bathroom and that exact moment Bright walked out. Bright saw her pointing and waved as he walked over. "He wouldn't appreciate it." She finished.

"Are you sure you're not just trying to give me the 'I have a boyfriend,' deal?" the guy asked with a smile, "You don't even know me yet. Just give me a chance." He grinned and Ashley softened. He did look like an okay guy.

"Fine." She sighed, "I'll give you a chance but not my number."

"How about this?" the guy said, "You hang out with me for the rest of the concert and then at the end of the night you can decide if you want to give me your number or not."

Ashley smiled, "Okay."

"Hey," Bright said as he came up to the two of them.

"Bright," Ashley said, "This is..." she paused, realizing she didn't know his name.

"Ryan," the guy supplied with a smile and shook Bright's hand, "Nice to meet you."

Bright nodded, "You too."  
  
The rest of the night, Ryan hung out with Ashley and she was surprised to realize that she did like him. He made her laugh and he was just... likeable. He got along well with everyone, except Adam who eyed him suspiciously. At the end of the night, Ashley gave him her number, a hug, and a promise to go out with him sometime.  
  
"Thanks for the ride Bright!" Ashley said as she hopped out of his truck behind Adam. She hurried up the stairs to the house, excited to tell Nina what happened.

"Thanks dude," Adam said leaning against the driver side door.

"You're welcome," Bright said. After a second of silence, he asked, "All right, what's wrong?"

"It's Ryan!" Adam confessed, "I just don't like him."

Bright nodded, "Yeah, well I really don't think there's much we can do about it."

"So you don't like him either?" Adam asked.

Bright sighed, "I guess. But I don't even have a reason not to like him."

"Besides the fact that Ashley likes him," Adam pointed out as he turned around to go inside. "See you tomorrow."  
  
As Ashley went to sleep that night, all she could think about was Ryan. It didn't occur to her that the night before, she could only think of Bright. He was as far from her mind as Boston was from Everwood.

---

Sorry it was so short! But it puts in a twist doesnt it??


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